Welcome to A-Leagues Life, where KEEPUP brings you all the latest news and goings on at your club. This is how the week is shaping up across the A-Leagues and beyond.
Image appears to reveal Al Hassan Toure’s next club: He’d be coached by an ex-Barca star
Al Hassan Toure departed Macarthur FC last month in pursuit of an opportunity overseas and the former A-Leagues star appears to have found his next club in Turkish side Eyupspor.
Toure has been linked with the second division club but a move has not been announced by Eyupspor on their website or social media.
However, the 23-year-old was spotted training with the team in images shared via social media as they started preparing for the 2023-24 campaign.
Toure – who spent two seasons at Macarthur – scored three goals and assisted five more in 2022-23 in what was his most productive season to date. The forward was pictured training alongside former Liverpool and Netherlands forward Ryan Babel.
Babel joined Eyupspor last season from Turkish giants Galatasaray and the 36-year-old scored five goals in the TFF First League.
Former Barcelona and Atletico Madrid star Arda Turan guided Eyupspor to a sixth-placed finish last term.
By finishing in the top seven of the 19-team league, Eyupspor qualified for the play-off quarter-finals and they made it through to the semi-finals before falling to Bodrsumspor as Samsunspor, Caykur Rizespor and Pendikspor were promoted to the Super Lig.
A 100-time international with Turkey and a LaLiga winner with both Barca and Atletico, this is Arda Turan’s first managerial position since retiring in 2022.
Denmark awaits a Sydney youngster
Sydney FC Under-20’s Academy goalkeeper Max Vartuli is on the move, joining four-time Danish champions AaB Aalborg.
Following a successful trial, the 18-year-old has signed a two-year loan deal in Denmark.
Vartuli, who was on the bench for Sydney in an Isuzu UTE A-League game in April last year, joined the club’s academy as a 13-year-old.
Isuzu UTE A-League 2023-24 Transfer Centre: Your club’s ins/outs
He isn’t the first Australian to play for AaB. Former Central Coast Mariners, Melbourne City, Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers defender Michael Beauchamp also called the club home in 2008-09.
AaB won the Danish Superliga in 2013-14 but they were relegated last season, having finished bottom of the standings.
“I feel really excited about this opportunity and Sydney FC have really helped me get ready for something like this as the pace and the professionalism of the environment in the Academy is like Europe,” Vartuli said via Sydney FC.
“The trial here was for ten days and I basically trained twice a day, every day with the first team which was great.
“They told me they liked what they saw in me and asked me to sign so they can develop me as they said they see potential.
“It has made me feel really optimistic for the future as it has been my dream to sign a professional contract and it hasn’t really sunk in yet. It’s a great stepping-stone in my life.”
Cummings heads home
But before then, the Socceroo is enjoying time back home in Scotland.
There was a Mariners jersey, Socceroos shirt and THAT Olivier Giroud jersey on show as Cummings visited family before joining Dimitri Petratos and Brendan Hamill in India.
After one-and-a-half seasons, an Isuzu UTE A-League Championship and a Joe Marston Medal, the Mariners favourite and talisman called time on his Gosford adventure.
The Australia international’s parting gift was his performance in the Grand Final earlier this month – a stunning hat-trick as the Mariners upstaged three-time reigning premiers Melbourne City to end their 10-year drought.
Born in Scotland, Cummings leaves a cult hero, having set a goalscoring record in Gosford, surpassing Daniel McBreen on the back of his 20-goal campaign in 2022-23. He also departs third in the club’s all-time leading goalscorer standings with 31 goals in 50 games in all competitions.
Teams gearing up for 2023-24
It is July and Isuzu UTE A-Leagues are already back on the training field, eyeing the 2023-24 campaign.
After the Mariners conquered City in last month’s decider, clubs are formulating plans to dethrone Central Coast.
Macarthur FC, Sydney FC And Western United are among the teams back in pre-season training.
Sydney FC reached the Semi Final last season before falling to three-time reigning premiers City.
Western United entered 2022-23 as the defending champions but they missed out on the top six as Macarthur finished bottom.
